Vice President JD Vance says former Vice President Kamala Harris refused a simple and longstanding courtesy before leaving office — letting the incoming VP’s young children see their future home.
Speaking on the first episode of the Katie Miller Podcast, Vance detailed how Harris “rebuffed” his wife Usha’s request to bring their three children to the vice president’s residence in Washington before Inauguration Day. The tour, a tradition meant to help incoming families adjust, was apparently denied without explanation.
“I think that, normally, it’s customary for the outgoing vice president to show the incoming vice president’s family the house,” Vance said. “We have three little kids, so I guess at the time our kids were, like, 7, 5, and, you know, 2 – I guess Mirabel turned 3 right before the inauguration.”
According to Vance, Usha had suggested a politics-free visit, just to give the children a chance to see the home they’d be living in for the next four years. “Recognizing the weirdness of the politics, can Usha take the kids over and just show them where they’re going to be living for the next 4 years? And they were rebuffed,” Vance said.
With the request denied, the family improvised. “A friend of ours in Cincinnati had a book about the vice president’s residence, and so we would show the kids what it would look like,” Vance explained. “That’s as close as they ever got to it” before moving in.
.@VP says after the election, since it’s usually “customary for the outgoing VP to show the incoming VP’s family the house,” he proposed bringing their kids over so they could see their home for the next four years — but Kamala “rebuffed” that request. pic.twitter.com/YC58At8Iqf
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 11, 2025
The snub extended to Vance himself. Traditionally, the outgoing vice president invites their successor for an informal visit to the residence before the transfer of power. Harris chose to skip that tradition entirely, denying the incoming VP even a courtesy walk-through.
This is particularly notable given Harris’ carefully crafted public image as a warm, family-oriented figure. Throughout her career, she has often highlighted her role as “Momala” to her stepchildren, Cole and Ella, children of her husband Doug Emhoff. In interviews and a 2019 Mother’s Day essay for Elle, Harris fondly recalled the night Ella coined the nickname and how it symbolized her close relationship with her stepchildren.
Critics may see a disconnect between that image and her actions toward the Vance family. While the “Momala” branding was a political asset for Harris, the refusal to extend a gesture of goodwill to her successor — especially one centered on young children — sends a sharply different message.
For Vance, the episode seems to be less about political grudges and more about a missed opportunity to make the transition smoother for a young family. But it also serves as a reminder of how even small gestures, or the lack of them, can reveal much about Washington’s culture — and about those who inhabit its highest offices.
The post Kamala Wouldn’t Let Vance Kids Tour The Veep’s House Before Inauguration, VP Says appeared first on Real News Now.
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